Chapter 38. Events relating to St

The nineteenth century opened with the elevation of Pius VII. During his pontificate, the churohea

• Relation of a voyage to Brussels and Coblenti In 1791. Paris 1823. This pamphlet was written bj the Count of Provence, afterwards Louis XV 111.

388 ^FE 0F SAINT CECILIA.

resumed something of their ancient splendor, through the generosity and pious zeal of the faithful ; but long years must pass away, ere the Basilica of Saint Cecilia, despoiled of nearly all its riches, and impoverished in its revenues, will again surround the - tomb of the saint with the magnificence it displayed in Sfondrato's time. Instead of a hundred lamps burning day and night, there are now only fifty, and these are extinguished at sunset. The edifice itself was beginning to decay, and there was every reason to fear that the holy dwelling of Cecilia, which had been so frequently restored and embellished, would fall to ruins before the close of the century. Joseph Doria, who had been Secretary of State during the troubled pontificate of Pius VI., was now titulary of St. Cecilia. But the short time which elapsed between his nomination and the fresh troubles which fell upon the Church, was not sufficiently long to permit him to undertake, much less to execute, any repairs in the Basilica. He had been named Secretary of State to Pius VII.; but he did not remain long in this dangerous office. He was soon exiled to Genoa, in consequence of his fidelity to the sovereign Pontiff*. He died on the 10th of February, shortly after the return of Pius VII. to Eome. His nephew, Cardinal George Doria, succeeded him as Titulary of St. Cecilia, and profiting by the happy revolution which had restored to Eome her Pontiff* and Master, he determined to devote his first care to the Basilica, which sadly needed restoring. He strengthened the arcades of the ground nave, consolidated the falling arch, and renewed the painting and gilding. The Abbess and religious of St. Cecilia, wishing to hand down to posterity, a remembrance of the pious munificence of George Doria, caused the following inscription to be engraved upon a marble tablet :

GEOKGIVS AB AVRIA PAMPHILIVS

PRESBYTER CARDINALIS HVIVS TITVLI

PERINSIGJSTE BIVM C^ECILLE E DOMO TEMPLVM

IN QVO ETIAM PIISSIMORVM CARDINALIVM

GEORGII PATRVI MAGNI ET IOSEPHI PATRVI SVI

CINERES QVIESCVNT

QVVM TEMPORIS INIVRIA FATISCERET

PERISTYLIO LATERICIIS MOLIBUS SVBFVLTO

SVPERIORI CONCAMERATIONE SOLIDATA

OMNIBUS DENIQVE AD ELEGANTEM FORMAM PERFECTIS

VRGINVM SACRARVM RELIGIOSO CVLTVI

RESTITVENDVM SVA IMPENSA CVRAVIT

ABBATISSA ET MONIALES

EMINENTISSIMI VIRI MUNIFICENTIAM

GRATO ANIMO PROSEQVVT^E

REI MEMORIAM LAPIDE SIGNATAM VOLVERVXT

AXNO M. DCCC XXIII.*

The Basilica thus restored, resumed its superiority

• George Doria Pampliili, Cardinal Priest and Titulary of this church, caused to be restored at his own expense, for the divine office chanted here by sacred virgins, this august temple, dedicated to St. Cecilia, and formerly the house in which she lived. The remains of George, the great uncle, and of Joseph, the undo of the present Titulary, repose hero. Seeing that this sanctuary was falling to ruins, Cardinal Doria supported the arcades with brickwork, consolidated the arch, and restored to the church its primitive beauty. As a token of gratitude for the niuniticence of this eminent Cardinal, the Abbess and religious have caused this inscription to be engraved.

over all the other churches of the city; and although still preserving traces of the cruel spoliation it had suffered, cheered by its splendor and elegance, the hearts of the pilgrims who visited the virgin's tomb. There were no events of any importance in the annals of St. Cecilia, until the disastrous days when Kome was profaned by sacrilege and revolt. No change was made in the trans-Tiberian Basilica during the pontificates of Leo XII., Pius VIII., and Gregory XVI.; under this last Pope, the church was entrusted to the pious Cardinal James Louis Brignole, a Genoese, who, upon his elevation to the Suburbicary Church of Sabine, obtained permission to retain this Basilica in commendam, as Sfondrato and Aquaviva had done. It was therefore under his administration, that the events w^e are about to relate, took place. We shall have occasion to admire the wonderful manner in which the holy martyr protected the house consecrated by her blood, and by the actual presence of her body. When, in November, 1848, the angelic Pius IX. had been forced to seek safety in flight, the fury of his enemies vented itself upon churches and monasteries. The venerable sanctuary of St. Cecilia was not spared ; but nowhere throughout the holy city, was the protection of heaven more clearly or more constantly manifested. Before the arrival of the French army, the faction who governed the city, conceived the idea of taking away from the churches, some paintings which needed restoration, under the pretext of giving occupation to the artists. A party came to the Church of St. Cecilia, and took possession of the altar piece in the Chapel of the Bath. They were carrying it away in triumph, when an energetic band of Trasteverini, thinking they were despoiling the Basilica, suddenly rushed upon them, and by menaces which they would have carried into effect, forced them to return the picture they had so imprudently detached from the wall. In revenge, the minister of fine arts established his artists in this very chapel, with orders to restore the frescos of Paul Brill, which were in reality much defaced ; but which are now completely destroyed, thanks to the pencils of these wretched artists. The tyrants of Rome had ordered that a number of the church bells should be taken down and cast into cannon for their service. The Basilica of St. Cecilia was one of the churches mentioned, but it was protected in a most unlooked-for manner. The President of the trans-Tiberian region, Vincent Cortesi, obtained from the triumvirate that the bells should not be disturbed. His influence likewise obtained for the Monastery and the Basilica an exemption from the decree, ordaining an inventory of all church furniture and monastic property.

The news that the French army was approaching, redoubled the rage of the factious party, while it increased the terror of peaceable citizens, who dreaded the horrors of a siege. On the 28th of April, 184 (,), the Benedictines of Campus Martius, begged admittance to the monastery of St. Cecilia, their convent having been seized by the republican administration and converted into barracks.

The daughters of St. Cecilia received their sisters with the most heartfelt kindness, their mutual alloc-

£>09 LIFE OF SAINT CECILIA tion being increased by the common peril to which they were exposed ; and the two communities, henceforth united in one, endeavored to assist each other in preparing for the trials in store for them.

Three days had scarcely elapsed, when a troop of armed men broke into the convent, at midnight, under pretext of seeking for a concealed priest. These ruffians searched every part of the house, but not finding the priest, they departed, threatening the religious with every kind of cruelty, assuring them that these threats would soon be put into execution. A few days later, the republican commissary of the Trastever^ Eegion, accompanied by two of his satellites and a mason, forced his way into the convent and demanded the treasures which he declared the Titulary Cardinal had entrusted to the religious. He, and his companions, pierced the walls, broke open the doors, and examined all the furniture ; but found no treasure. Such unheard of outrages committed in a house of unprotected women, were but preludes to greater insults. On the 14th of May, two commissaries of the government, presented themselves to the Abbess, Giuseppa Ben eggi, after having broken open the doors of the monastery. They compelled her to assemble all her religions in the parlor, and then, in the presence of these holy virgins, they read a decree of the triumvirate, annulling the vows of all religious, and declaring them free to return to the world. The daughters of St. Cecilia listened to this insolent and sacrilegious decree, with silent indignation, and the commissaries retired.

The next evening, at ten o'clock, the commissary of the Trastevere Eegion, escorted by ten men, again entered the convent, and imperiously demanded the treasures of the Titulary Cardinal. After a fruit, less search, this man, furious at his non-success, summoned the Abbess before him, and told her that he considered her responsible for the missing treasures. He finally threatened to carry off the Abbess as a hostage, a menace which he would have executed, had not Providence interposed.

The month of June having arrived, the French resolved to press the siege. The fury of the assault, as well as of the defence, was confined principally to the Trastevere Eegion.

There was a constant cross fire from the Aventine Hill and the summit of Mount Janiculum, above the Basilica and Monastery of St. Cecilia. The balls struck against the august temple of the Eoman Virgin in every direction, and the religious, who had been successively driven from one room of the monastery to another, finally took refuge in that part of the building erected on the Piazza de Santa Cecila. Wehave seen, in the monastery, a heap of balls which were picked up in the garden, by the religious, after the siege.

The intervention of heaven was marvellously shown by the miraculous preservation, not only of the religious, but also of the Basilica. Not one of the sisters was injured, although the balls frequently pierced the walls of the rooms where they were assembled; whilst the Basilica, though exposed on all sides to bomb shells and balls was not damaged in the slightest degree oq^ LIFE OF SAINT CECILIA.

Christ visibly protected this sacred house, and the virgins who dwelt under its roof, because the tomb of Cecilia His spouse, is ever dear to His heart. This was proved by the following incident.

On the 10th of June, after one of the most fearful days of the siege, four religious had remained after matins in the tribune of the choir, directly in front of the main altar and of the Confession of St. Cecilia. They were the RR. MM. Donna Flavia Celeste Cecconi, Donna Electa Benedetti, Donna Gertrude Benedetti, and Donna Scholastica Rosa; the first three were exiles from St. Mary of the Campus Martins; the last belonged to the monastery of St. Cecilia. After the severe trials of the day, they remained to pray and to implore Almighty God to put an end to the disastrous events which were devastating the holy city. The Basilica was plunged in almost total darkness, the only light being that of four small tapers placed upon the upper balustrade, near the altar, on the Epistle side.

The four sisters were praying devoutly, when their attention was attracted to the sanctuary, suddenly illuminated by a brilliant light, issuing from the crypt under the altar where Cecilia's body reposed. This light ascended slowly to the foot of the statue, crossed the altar on the Gospel side, and after reaching the tabernacle, again descended, and vanished. The marvellous apparition was repeated twice. The four sisters were so impressed at such an unexpected sight, that at first they did not venture to communicate their feelings to one another. The Sisters of St. Mary were the first to speak; turning towards Donna Scholastica Rosa, they said : " Do you see that light ? — " I do see it," replied the religions of St. Cecilia. " But what can it mean?" asked the other sisters." "I know not," answered Donna Scholastica, "let ns see if it wrill reappear." A few moments after, the same brilliant light returned, and again ascending to the tabernacle, slowly descended, und disappeared as before. The Sisters remained a long time, respectfully waiting for another apparition; but the mysterious light appeared no more. This extraordinary fact, which we have heard from the lips of the above named religious, was certainly most significant.

Who does not see in it a touching indication of Cecilia's prayers, ascending to her divine Spouse, interceding for the cessation of the scourge and for the salvation of Eome and her Pontiff? The light emanated from the virgin's tomb like a fervent aspiration ; it ascended towards Him who alone can give peace, and returned to the tomb, after having obtained the favor it implored. What greater proof could there be of the intercession of the Saints in our favor; and does it not likewise show that this intercession is more readily granted when prayed for in the places where their bodies repose ?

Cecilia was truly watching over the salvation and deliverance of her children in the trans-Tiberian regions; for the wonderful preservation of the Basilica and monastery could only be attributed to her powerful intercession. Their trials, however, were not yet at an end; Cecilia's vigilance was still required over her august temple and her devoted children.

On the 15th of June, the Abbess received an imperious order to leave the house within three hours, and to send some of her daughters to the monastery of St. Bernardin, the rest to that of St. Susanna. The military engineers had selected the Church and monastery of St. Cecilia as a point of defence from which they could return the enemy's fire. We may easily conceive the desolation into which the religious were plunged by this unexpected expulsion from the sanctuary, rendered doubly dear by the terrors, the heartbreakings, and the dangers of the preceding months. Their souls were oppressed with the sad prospect of the sacred temple exposed to frightful profanations, the body of Cecilia, their faithful patroness, abandoned to these sacrilegious men,, the asylum of consecrated virgins converted into a barrack ; the convent, within which they had practised the humble virtues of the cloister, and which they considered their home, desolated, perhaps destroyed, by the cannon of the besiegers, whilst they were wandering through the streets of the city.

Tears and supplications would have been lost upon the agents of the triumvirate ; but Cecilia's protection was again sensibly felt. A private gentleman, Joseph Costa, who lived near the convent, and whose three daughters had been educated by the religious, interceded in their favor. He obtained permission for the Sisters to remain in their house, only giving up the part of the building which faced the Janiculum.

The religious immediately walled up the communicating doors between the part of the building which they were forced to relinquish, and that which they were permitted to retain, and continued to trust in the power of their heavenly protectress. The project of converting the Basilica and monastery into a place of defence, was never carried into execution ; a sufficient proof that cupidity was the principal cause of this new vexation. In fact, two days later, some commissaries having thoroughly explored that part of the monastery given up to them, entered the Basilica about seven o'clock in the morning, with the intention of searching every where for the hidden treasures, of the Titulary Cardinal. As there was no one to oppose them, everything was to be feared from their audacity and avidity. The commissaries were accompanied by workmen, and they immediately commenced their search. Thinking that the treasures might be buried in the vault where the religious were interred, they hesitated not to violate this sacred place, and to disturb the ashes of the consecrated dead. Finding nothing in the first vault, they directed their steps to another, situated in the chapel of the Crucifix, and long used as a burial place for seculars. This search proved as unsuccessful as the former, and finally, after twelve hours of fruitless labor, the commissaries retired, uttering a thousand imprecations against the religious, and threatening in their fury, to force the cloister of the monastery. Joseph Costa again interceded in behalf of the Sisters, and obtained a detachment of the civic guard for their protection. This guard continued in service until the taking of Eome, and were disbanded by General Oudinot on the very day of his triumphal entrance into the city. We will now close these annals of the Eoman virgin, hoping that by the mercy of Christ,

32*

398 ^IFE 0F SAINT CECILIA.

they will be enriched throughout the course of time, for the consolation of Christianity and the honor of our invincible heroine. The Komans, especially those dwelling in the trans-Tiberian regions, pay her the most devoted homage, and she reigns over all Christendom as Queen of Harmony.

It is true, that for more than a century, neither poet nor artist has laid at her feet a tribute worthy of her acceptance ; but this must be attributed to that general decline of true Catholic inspiration in the fine arts which commenced at a much earlier period. In France, another cause may be assigned, viz., the conspiracy of our hagiographers against the honor of the Saint.

Better days are in store, when devotion to the Saints will become more lively and practical. All must acknowledge that little was thought of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, until the pen of Montalembert had so vividly painted her beautiful virtues. Cecilia lived at a much earlier period, but her name has always been popular and her feast annually celebrated. Christ will deign to glorify His Spouse still more. He will infuse new life into the homages paid her, and will incite the faithful to imitate her glorious example.

What thanks do we not owe thee, Cecilia! for having permitted us to trace thy hallowed memory throughout sixteen ages; for having assisted us in our narration, and above all, for the favor thrice repeated of prostrating ourselves before thy august tomb, and celebrating the Sacrifice of the Lamb, thy Spoase, upon the altar which covers and protects thy remains!

In the first of these pilgrimages, we conceived the idea of rendering thee this public homage of our tender veneration; of consecrating to thy glory this humble work as a memorial of the holy joy we have experienced when kneeling at thy feet. Deign, O Virgin, Apostle, Martyr, amidst the many gifts offered at thy Confession by purer hands than ours, to accept this feeble tribute of our love !

Angels alone can worthily celebrate thy praise, O Spouse of Christ ! We can but address thee in the trembling accents of fallen and sinful humanity.

Deign to look favorably upon us, O glorious queen! from the throne of glory whereon thou sittest, clothed with the dazzling robe of which the Psalmist speaks. Vouchsafe to accept our humble offering.*

Deign also to hear our prayer for that holy Church, whose glory and support thou art.

In the profound night of the present century, the Spouse delays His coming. Amidst the solemn silence, He permits the virgin to slumber until the day of His advent.f We honor thy repose upon thy mysterious couch, rendered glorious by thy victories, O Cecilia ! but we know that thou dost not forget us ; for thus speaks the Spouse in the sacred Canticle : " I sleep, but my heart watches 1"$

The hour approaches when the Spouse will appear, and rally his followers around the standard of the Cross. Soon the cry will be heard : " Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye forth to meet him."§

• Psalms xliv. 2.

f Moram autem faciente sponso, dorinitavorunt ouines (virgines) et dormierunt. Matth. xxv. 5.

t Cant., v. 2. § Matt. xxv. 6.

O Cecilia ! then wilt thou exclaim to the Christians of our generation, as thou formerly didst to the faithful band, who surrounded thee in the hour of combat: " Soldiers of Christ, cast off the works of darkness and clothe yourselves with the armor of light !"*

The Church daily pronounces thy name with love and confidence in the most sacred part of her Mysteries, firmly confiding in thy assistance, 0, Cecilia! which she knows will never fail her. Eaise up Christian hearts to the contemplation of those eternal truths which they too often forget in their vain pursuit of those earthly vanities, which held captive the heart of Tiburtius, until thy sublime eloquence had undeceived his noble soul. Thus wilt thou prepare the triumph of the Church ; for when thoughts of eternity shall predominate in the heart of man, then will the salvation and the peace of nations be secured.

Our task is accomplished : we must now resume less pleasing labors. Mayest thou. 0 Cecilia ! ever be the delight of the Heavenly Spouse. Mayest thou ever breathe the divine perfume of his roses and lilies, and be charmed with the ineffable harmony of His Sacred Heart. From thy throne of glory, watch over us during life ; aid us at the hour of death, and bear our souls to their immortal home. There shall we behold thee, crowned with glory, and radiant with ineffable happiness ; and in the light of that refulgent vision, we shall comprehend the exalted excellence of Virginity, Apostolic zeal, and Martyrdom.

• Eia milites Christi, abjicite opera tenebrarum et induamini arma lucis. Acta S. Ccecilice.